Just curious...cell phones

[erinsmom03]

Just wondering...does anyone use their cell phones while on their cruise? I know that the Wave phone is provided by Disney, but curious about cell phones...we use Verizon, was wondering about getting temporary international coverage for the cruise, not even sure if this is possible???

[eyesing4u]

I'd love to know the answer to that as well. I had planned to use my phone in St. Thomas and San Juan because they are US Territories, but I should probably check with Verizon.

[rosermama]

We have At&t and used our phone on St. Thomas but not St. John as they advised we might pick up Bristish cell towers. We had no problem using them in San Juan and had no extra charges. Double check with your phone provider.

FYI even though they are US territories they can charge international roaming that was the warning from the phone company.

just like credit cards will charge 3% transaction fee in the territories

[sayhello]

Most people advise against using your cell phone on the ship. No matter what your cell phone provider charges you, Cellular at Sea charges you $2.49 a minute on top of that. I'm not sure what the charge is for texts, but most people put their phones in airplane mode to make sure no calls or texts or data is used onboard. Some ports you can just use your cell phone per usual, some you'd need an international plan for. That part I'd check with your provider for.

Sayhello

[kcashner]

Cellular at Sea is $2.49 per minute on top of any carrier charges. We have Verizon--you plan covers all US ports (St. Thomas, San Juan, Key West, Alaska). Texts on board ar 5 cents to receive and 50 cents to send--we just keep the phone to airplane mode except when on US land......Even if you get the international roaming, you'll pay for the cellular at sea. Too rich for me!

[sgc1107]

We were told (Verizon) we'd have use if data & text at normal rates on St. Thomas & San Juan, unless we were in sone of the smaller towns on Rome. DH has an email sent from Verizon CS that will play a big tool if something looks funny on our bill next month!

[Kimosabe]

I called Verizon prior to our Fantasy Western Caribbean cruise to ask about data charges, as I needed to check some e-mails while gone. I paid $25 for 100 MB of data, which in the typical world, should be plenty. Haven't seen my bill yet to know what might actually show up, but I was able to check, send and receive e-mails in Cozumel with no problem. Tried it in Grand Cayman and didn't have as much luck ("searching...searching...searching...").

PP's prices on sending and receiving texts is what they also told me, but I did not do any texting. When you get "over the line", Verizon sends a few texts reminding you of what, if any, plans you have to cover international issues. This basically serves as a gentle reminder to put your phone in airplane mode!

I made no calls, as there did not seem to be any special deal for those and, as per above, there can be other hidden charges for those.

In short, just call Verizon to see what might already be included in your plan or what options you might have for a week at sea. I told them I just wanted the $25 for the month during which my cruise sailed, and they have promised to take it back off after that month. We'll see!

[erinsmom03]

Thanks for all the advice! Our stops are in Mexico and Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay, no US ports... I guess we will have to make a stop in at Verizon to make sure what the best choice will be. Maybe it will end up being airplane mode! I'm sure we'll be having too much fun to need our cell phones anyway!

[Billinaz]

Luckily we have ATT..... They said using our phones/data/text in St Thomas and San Juan is treated as domestic US rates so we should see no additional charges to our plan since we have unlimited text and data...... We also have Sprint mifi devices for our iPads, etc that are on a domestic rate there as well.....